By Fred
Parvaneh, kayhan.london, February 24, 2017The Story of Iran’s Actresses Is Told in New Film;
Aghdashloo Attended L.A. Screening.

An examination of the work
and lives of actresses in the Iranian film industry prior to the 1979
revolution, featuring myriad interviews and rare film clips.

"Razor's Edge: The Legacy of Iranian
Actresses" looks at the often controversial role of women in
Iranian cinema during the secular period from the 1930s to the Islamic
Revolution in 1979.

Through unprecedented access to the
actresses and rare film clips of the works in which they appeared, filmmaker Bahman
Maghsoudlou examines the effect that occurs when women gain
expression in a stridently patriarchal society. The film will be submitted to
all major festivals.

Who were the first actresses in the history
of Iranian cinema, and who are the female performers of today? A new documentary
screened in L.A. in february brought answers to those questions – with
Hollywood actress Shohreh
Aghdashloo present both on screen and off.

A sold-out audience attended the February 19 movie premiere of Bahman
Maghsoudlou’s “Razor’s Edge: The Legacy of Iranian
Actresses” at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.
Sponsored by the Honar Foundation, the documentary tells the
story of Iranian actresses from the 1930s to the present – through rare film
clips and unprecedented access to the performers themselves.

Several of the actresses in the
documentary then participated in a post-screening panel discussion (held in
Persian). Besides Shohreh
Aghdashloo, they included Mary
Apick, Vida
Ghahremani, Fakhri
Khorvash, Zinat Moadab and Partow Nooriala. The panel was moderated by the journalist
and author Homa Sarshar, founder of
the Honar Foundation.

Aghdashloo
said that she found it no different working in the U.S. today than working in
Iran in the mid-to-late-1970s.

“Maybe here and there,
and exceptionally, there were people who looked at us actresses a bit
differently, but in our generation, Iranians had great respect for actors, and
for women working” in film, she said.

“If an actress was thirsty, she wouldn’t get a drink of
water any quicker than a man would,” she added. “I
didn’t see any differentiation between male and female actors in my
time.”

The movie’s director, Dr. Bahman
Maghsoudlou is a U.S.-educated producer and director who has
dedicated his life to documenting Iranian cinema.

The pre-screening reception was attended by many of L.A.’s prominent
Iranian-Americans, and co-hosted by Bita Milanian. Also present were Haleh
Javanshir, the movie’s editor, and her cameraman husband Serge Hamad.

All proceeds from the sale of tickets were donated to benefit the movie,
which will now be submitted to major international film festivals.

Farsi Show with Hengame Abassi covered “Razor’s
Edge” The Legacy of Iranian Actresses by Bahman Maghsouldou, a documentary 15
years in the making.

The event took place in the Writers
Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Followed by Red Carpet and a panel discussion
with 6 actresses from the film; Partow Nooriala, Shohreh
Aghdashloo, Vida
Ghahremani, Fakhri
Khorvash, Zinat Moadab, and Mary
Apick. Live interview with writer, poet, and actress Partow Nooriala.